The World's Largest Insect

This giant insect can be used as a toy.

A child ties one end of a string to a stick and the other end around the "neck" of an insect. Holding the stick, the child lets the insect go. With a loud whirring sound, the insect takes off, pulling the string in a large curve over the child's head. The child laughs as the stick jumps around. The child is African, and the toy is the African Goliath beetle, the largest insect in the world.

The Goliath is a true insect because it has six legs and a body that is divided into three parts. Like all beetles, it has two pairs of wings. The front pair are thick and stiff and protect the back pair, which are soft. It is these soft back wings that make the beetle fly forward. They also cause the loud whirring sound the beetle makes when it flies. To steer, the beetle twists and turns its legs the same way you steer a bike by turning its front wheel.

African children often use the Goliath beetle as a toy. Although it is over 15 centimeters long, it is quite harmless.

The African Goliath beetle is _______. 

A. the world's largest insect

B. a toy used in many parts of the world

C. the only insect found in Africa

D. the world's smallest insect

What made the whirring sound that the child heard?

A. The curved string.                         B. The beetle's soft wings.

C. The beetle's six legs.                             D. The beetle's body.

We know the Goliath beetle is a true insect because it _______. 

A. makes a whirring sound when it flies          B. has both soft and hard wings

C. has six legs and a body with three parts   D. can fly

When flying, the Goliath steers by_______. 

A. turning its soft back wings

B. twisting and turning its hard front wings

C. twisting and turning its legs

D. twisting and turning its whole body

Wendy Gallegos writes “concer” on the board. One of her students raises her hand.

“Ms. Gallegos, you should have written ‘conocer’ instead,” she said, referring to the Spanish verb for “to know.”

Gallegos looks at the board, smiles and quickly erases her mistake.

“You see, I have taught you so well, you pick up on my mistakes,” she said with a laugh.

To Gallegos, the scene in her classroom is typical（特有的）of the children she teaches. Gallegos teaches high school Spanish. She became part of their lives and families for three years. She is willing to help her children succeed. After a couple of years, Gallegos’ class becomes like home. Gallegos’ Spanish class is taught mostly in English in sixth grade. By the time the students are eighth-graders, they are speaking fewer words of English and more of Spanish during the 50-minute classes.

“My goal is to get my kids to say something in Spanish every day,” she said, “I want them to be able to talk to me. That’s why I help them, I praise them, I recognize them when they do good work. And we have fun. The day I stop having fun is the day I am going to consider a different job.’’

If a student needs help, Gallegos offers the student a “lifesaver,” which is help from a classmate. The lifesaver gets a piece of candy as a reward. As the students said: “Gallegos’ class is anything but boring.” It is because of Gallegos’ efforts and determination that she is the teacher who they think is most deserving of one of Collier County’s Golden Apple Awards.

“I don’t teach a subject, I teach kids. This is what I was born to do,” Gallegos said.

1.The scene（情景）in Gallegos’ class is mentioned at the beginning of the passage to ____.

A．show Gallegos, as a teacher, makes a mistake

B．tell teachers can help students correct mistakes.

C．show her good teaching method in daily class

D．point out the students’ impolite behavior in class

2.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 implies that_____.

A．having fun is Gallegos’ goal in hunting jobs.  B．Gallegos likes her job very much

C．Gallegos is considering changing her job      D．teaching Spanish will not last long

3.What made Gallegos get Golden Apple Award?

A．Her interesting class.                     B．Her determination in study.

C．Rewarding her students with prizes.         D．Her efforts made to teach kids.

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．This is what I was born to do               B．Golden Apple Awards

C．Spanish classes with fun                   D．How to get along with kids

—What made John wild _____ joy?

—Being admitted to his dream university.

A. with?????????? B. by?????????????? C. at??????????? D. for

We bought a second-hand house, and that afternoon I was in the workshop of the gqrage,I noticed a part of a carpet sticking out of the ceiling of an attic（阁楼）that was strange, I found a ladder and headed up.

I climbed into the attic, As my eyes adjusted to the dark , I saw a metal container, I opened the lid and was shocked by  what I saw: several rolls of money tied up in orange string , I’ve found , like ＄800, Awesome!

But there was more than one box of money , I found another seven boxes full to the top, plus two big black bags full of cash, I won’t lie , My first thought was that this was a bleesing from God –the means to fix up this old house; or just to uxe to make life easier for our rwo young sons , who sere seven and four ,But I knew that the right thing was to return the money to the previous owners . So I called them and asked them to come.

They were shocked, of course, not only about the money but that I was returning it , They had recently got the house from their dad and said it must have been their dad who, had hidden the money, What made him do it? I thought about the hundreds of times he had bone to his shop, cut off a length of orange string ,and bound up a roll of money , I like to think he did it for his chileren .

There were balls of that ouange stuing still hanging on the wall of the workshop when we moved in ,I used them to tie up Christmas presents last year, for my kids , I hope it reminded them of the gift greater than money that my wife and I gave them by returning the money ,We did the right thing ,and our children will never forget that.

1.The story took place after         

A．the author got the house from his dad

B．the author bought the house

C．the previous owners hid the money

D．the author’s dad sold the house

2.How many boxes of cash did the author discover in the attic?

A．One box          B．Two boxes         C．Seven boxes       D．Eight boxes

3.What do we know about the money that the author found?

A．It would be used to fix the old house

B．It had been hidden in the house by thieves

C．No one was sure why it was lift in the house

D．It made the previous owners think of their mother

4.What did the author put on the outside of his children’s Christmas gifts?

A．A roll of money                         B．Balls

C．Tie-up orange string                     D．Metal containers

5.The text is mainly about a story of         

A．honesty                              B．bravery

C．wisdom                               D．love

The summer I was ten, my mother decided to bring us to the world of art. My brother and I were not very excited when we realized what my mother meant. What she meant was that we would have to spend one afternoon a week with her at the Fine Arts Museum. Before each visit to the museum, she made us read about artists and painting styles. It was almost as bad as being in school. Who wants to spend the summer thinking about artists when you could be with your friends at the swimming pool?

     First we had to read about ancient Egyptians and their strange way of painting faces and then go to look at them at the museum. My 12-year-old brother thought this was so funny, but I was not interested. Later we had to learn about artists in the Middle Ages who painted people wearing strange long clothing. We had to look at pictures of fat babies with wings and curly (鬈曲的) hair and with no clothes on flying around the edges of paintings. I certainly couldn't see what was so great about art.

     On our last visit to the museum, something happened when I saw a painting by a woman called Mary. In it, a woman was reading to a child. The colors were soft and gentle, and you could tell by the mother' s expression how happy she was just to be with the child. I couldn't stop looking at this painting ! I wanted to see every painting Mary had ever made! It was really worth looking at so many paintings to find a painter who could interest me so much.

The aim of the mother' s plan was to _________.

  A. take them to visit the museum              B. introduce them to the world of art

  C. ask them to read about artists               D. show them different painting styles

What was the writer' s experience in the museum before the last visit?

  A. She came to feel her mother' s love.   B. She liked many paintings.

  C. She hardly enjoyed herself.             D. She could understand the pictures of fat babies.

What made the writer go through a change that summer?

  A. One of Mary's paintings.           B. A strange way of painting.

  C. Artists in the Middle Ages.          D. Her mother' s instruction.

From the text, we can see _________.

  A. the importance of curiosity          B. the effect of art

  C. the value of learning                D. the power of family education